und, aber, oder — Joining German Sentences
After this lesson you can link two sentences without disturbing the word order.
Do this first: Verb position
und, aber, oder — Joining German Sentences
These are the joins that cost nothing: und, aber and oder glue two sentences together and leave the word order exactly as it was.
These are the joins that cost nothing: und, aber and oder glue two sentences together and leave the word order exactly as it was.
und
↓
and
Ich lerne und ich arbeite.
The letter und becomes and. For example: Ich lerne und ich arbeite..
The video for this lesson is being made. Here is the idea in the meantime.
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Kulturnotiz
German writing joins clauses far more freely than English does — a single German sentence often carries two or three linked ideas where English would use full stops. That is why German prose looks long: it is not verbosity, it is a different tolerance for sentence length. Getting comfortable with und, aber and denn is the first step to reading a German newspaper without running out of breath.
Common questions
+Do these conjunctions change the word order?
No — und, aber, oder, denn and sondern leave both clauses exactly as they were. Only the subordinating group (weil, dass, wenn, obwohl) sends the verb to the end.
+What is the difference between denn and weil?
Meaning: none, both are "because". Grammar: denn leaves the verb in position two, weil sends it to the end. Ich bleibe, denn ich bin müde / Ich bleibe, weil ich müde bin.
+When do I use sondern instead of aber?
Only after a negative, when you are replacing what was denied: nicht X, sondern Y. For an ordinary contrast — "expensive but good" — use aber.
+Is denn the same as dann?
No. Denn is "because" (a reason); dann is "then" (a sequence). They are one letter apart and constantly confused.